ATKV Hartenbos

I stayed in the housing available and it was well looked after. No complaints. Each house their own unique layout which I do think is a nice touch. House keeping does do rounds before 9am which is helpful if you have an outdoor day planned but otherwise it is too early especially for those who like to sleep in. Peaceful place on the beach which is nice a nice getaway from the busy city life. We had many issues with the online service which is why I rated it lower than the others however the staff in person are able to assist the best they can which was more comforting.

We absolutely loved our stay! The resort is beautiful and perfectly situated in a fantastic location. From the moment we arrived, we were warmly welcomed at the reception office, and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful throughout our visit. The waterfront area is stunning, with great restaurants and charming shops that create a wonderful atmosphere. It’s truly a must-visit destination — we can’t wait to return!

We had a wonderful experience at the campsite. It was out first time camping and we loved it. The fun park was just that...lots of fun especially for our kids. We fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean. The bathroom facilities were exceptionally clean and the cleaning staff were so friendly and cheerful. Only had one bad experience with a racist comment which came from a mature white woman in the bathroom. It's so shocking and sad that we still have that in South Africa today. Otherwise, our trip was amazing. Our immediate neighbour's were amazing, helpful and so friendly too. We will be back for sure God Willing. Thank you ATKV Hartenbos 🙏🏼

We were very disappointed with the overall experience. While the rondawel was reasonably clean, this was in line with the generally poor condition of the unit itself. The drive past the preschool located in the same area as the units was concerning and did not contribute to a sense of comfort or safety.
There was a clear lack of proper guidance from staff regarding directions to the pool area. Access requires walking through the mall, which feels unsafe, particularly for families with young children. This does not align with the ATKV experience we expected—one where children can safely move around and ride their bicycles.
For those considering accommodation here, the sea-view units appear to be the better option. The other units are in very poor condition, and there is no safe or practical walking route to the pool area from them.
Additionally, day visitors left large amounts of trash, were very loud, and created an uncomfortable atmosphere with little regard for personal space.
Although we paid for one night, we chose not to stay over due to feeling uncomfortable both in the unit and at the pool area. Overall, this experience did not meet expectations, and we would not recommend spending money here.

Now here is an interesting observation: Over the last month or so, ATKV Hartenbos has responded and acknowledged every good rating (4 stars and above) here on Google Maps with not a single response lodged against poorer ratings (3 stars or less).

We arrived on 7 December, to find the ablutions in terrible shape and 'marauding' bands of half-drunk matric boys and girls still encamped, messing up the ablutions, and walking through the camp with boom boxes going (and around the camp to be spiteful, when asked to tune it down), disturbing everyone else's peace and quiet, and with camp security doing nothing to put a stop to it. Surely this can be better managed in years to come!!!

We were furthermore surprised to find that the 'certified' assistants provided by the resort to help campers pitch their caravans and tents, are total greenhorn youngsters, who had never pitched a caravan/tent in their lives before. So we had to explain every next step and help them do the work, then still had to fix every fudged action after they had left. And we were charged R500 for that 'assistance'! ATKV, I have no issue if you use something like this to score points for training, etc., but then at least ensure that every team of youngsters is provided with a team leader who is an old hand at pitching caravans and tents, who knows how the job should be done, to take the lead! We have had much better 'expert' assistance at other camp sites (ATKV and non-ATKV) around South Africa, at half the price charged by Hartenbos resort!

Then our 'appliance dance' started, camp sites are fitted with 10A electrical breakers only, which means you can only switch on one appliance at a time. When complaining about this, and asking why this was not made clear to prospective campers when making a booking, the rather rude resort manager wanted to know if we had camped here before, because if we did, we would have known. And when I asked him how that was relevant, and why we had no such issues when camping at other ATKV resorts (e.g. Buffelspoort, Klein Kariba), his first action was to call the other resorts to check their electrical breaker ratings, trying to win an argument rather than trying to resolve the problem! That after it required many calls to try and report the matter in the first place with resort numbers (incl. emergency numbers) not being answered, and once a call was logged, it took the resort electrician the better part of a day to respond to our call for help.

I am a paid-up member of the ATKV, and have been so since 2012. Surely we can do better as an organization, in terms of the facilities we provide, how matric jols are managed (and not overlapped with other bookings), and how ATKV resort staff interact and serve campers and ATKV members!